Books published by William B Eerdmans Publishing Co

One of the most respected and influential scholars of religious liberty in our time, Douglas Laycock has argued many crucial religious-liberty cases in the United States Supreme Court. His noteworthy scholarly and popular writings are being collected in five comprehensive volumes under the title Religious Liberty.In this final volume Laycock documents the use of the Constitu­tion's Free Speech Clause and Establishment Clause in legal briefs, scholarly and popular articles, House testimonies, and written debates. These two clauses have been vitally important in religious-liberty cases concerning religious speech in schools, politics, and the workplace, government funding of religious schools and social services, and the meaning of separation of church and state.

"This book is an introduction to twentieth-century Catholic thinker Erich Przywara, retrieving and extending Przywara's vision of the analogy of being as the metaphysical touchstone of a specifically Christian understanding of being. The author offers a detailed exploration of Przywara's thought in conversation with Edith Stein, the Nouvelle Thâeologie, and leading figures in contemporary postmodern theology"--

Too long restricted to children's storybooks and cinematic extravaganzas, the Torah -- comprising the first five books of the Bible -- is an underappreciated mother lode of divine instruction, vitally important for Christians and the church. Convinced that both those who take the Torah too literally and those who neglect it are guilty of a naive simplicity, Johanna van Wijk-Bos presents guidelines to help ordinary Christians recover this treasure in their faith and practice.Having lived in the Netherlands during the Nazi occupation, van Wijk-Bos recognizes that after the attempted annihilation of the Jews from Christian Europe, it cannot be business as usual for Christianity. In light of the Holocaust, Christians must commit themselves to the restoration of just relations between Christians and Jews. This commitment to address all that fractures human relations undergirds van Wijk-Bos's call for Christians to reengage the Torah.Making Wise the Simple points out how God's care for and engagement with the whole world in the Torah set the tone for the entire biblical story. The book pays special attention to how our treatment of strangers lies at the heart of the Torah's teaching. Without attempting a purely Jewish reading of the Torah, van Wijk-Bos reclaims the Torah as a vibrant word for the Christian community in covenant with God.Written in a personal style conversant with current scholarship but sprinkled with anecdotes, this book is for everyone who has a hunger and enthusiasm for what the biblical text may convey, the courage to ask disturbing questions of the text, and an openness to old words that may bring forth new things, perhaps even making one wise.

This book explores the philosophical, legal, and theological roots of Western multiculturalism, that is, the encounter and coexistence of different cultures within a liberal society. Rather than concerning themselves with the particulars of cultural dialogue, the authors of this volume go deeper and question the very reality of multiculturalism itself. As a whole the volume devotes attention to the origins of human nature, arguing that regardless of how different another person or culture seems to be, universal human experience discloses what it means to be human and to relate to others and to God. The contributors represent different cultures and faith traditions but are united in friendship and in the conviction that the Christian faith enables an authentic approach to long-standing debates on multiculturalism. Contributors: Massimo BorghesiFrancesco BotturiMarta CartabiaCarmine Di MartinoPierpaolo DonatiCostantino EspositoStanley HauerwasAntonio LopezFrancisco Javier Martínez FernandezJohn MilbankJavier PradesDavid L. SchindlerAngelo Cardinal ScolaLorenza VioliniJoseph H. H. Weiler

In this book Ira Lupu and Robert Tuttle break through the unproductive American debate over competing religious rights. They present an original theory that makes the secular character of the American government, rather than a set of individual rights, the centerpiece of religious liberty in the United States.Through a comprehensive treatment of relevant constitutional themes and through their attention to both historical concerns and contemporary controversies -- including issues often in the news -- Lupu and Tuttle define and defend the secular character of U.S. government.

There is no doubt that ecumenism occupies a prominent place in the history of the church in the twentieth century: countless churches have been renewed through encounter with Christian sisters and brothers in other confessions and cultures. But it is not clear that this ecumenical impulse will continue to figure prominently in the church''s story. In this book Michael Kinnamon argues that the ecumenical movement, which has given such energy and direction to the church, needs to be reconceived in a way that provides renewing power for the church in this era -- and he shows how this might happen. He names the problems with ecumenism, identifies strengths and accomplishments upon which the church now can build, and suggests practical, concrete steps we can take in the direction of revitalization, especially at the local level.

Based on several years of teaching and careful observation in preaching classes, this book by Michael Brothers explores the benefits of distance in preaching -- and listening to -- sermons. Having noticed that sermon listeners generally want to be given room for their own interpretations and experiences, Brothers argues that critical and aesthetic distance as a hermeneutical tool is vital to hearing the gospel today and should be intentionally employed in sermon construction and delivery. He explains this distance in the field of homiletics, equips teachers and students of preaching to evaluate the function of distance in sermons, and encourages preachers to practice the use of distance in their preaching.

This volume presents an integrated collection of constructive essays by eminent Catholic scholars addressing the new challenges and opportunities facing religious believers under shifting conditions of secularity and post-secularity. Using an innovative keywords approach, At the Limits of the Secular is an interdisciplinary effort to think through the implications of secular consciousness for the role of religion in public affairs. The book responds in some ways to Charles Taylor''s magnum opus, A Secular Age, although it also stands on its own. It features an original essay by David Tracy -- the most prominent American Catholic theologian writing today -- and groundbreaking contributions by influential younger theologians such as Peter Casarella, William Cavanaugh, and Vincent Miller. CONTRIBUTORSWilliam A. Barbieri Jr.Peter CasarellaWilliam T. CavanaughMichele DillonMary DoakAnthony J. GodziebaSlavica JakelicJ. Paul MartinVincent J. MillerPhilip J. RossiRobert J. SchreiterDavid Tracy

All over the world Christian communities meet on Sunday morning for worship. But what really happens during a worship service? How do worshipers participate in the service? What does it mean to sing, pray, and celebrate the Lord''s Supper together? What do worshipers do when they listen to a sermon? In The Touch of the Sacred Gerrit Immink offers thoughtful theological reflection on the religious practice of worship services in the Protestant tradition. He develops a theology of worship with a clear focus on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ as he explores the meaning of worship, the mystery of Christ, the sacraments, prayer, and preaching. Ultimately, he says, something dynamic happens when a church congregation speaks and acts: it is touched by the sacred, by a very encounter with the living God.

A groundbreaking, comprehensive study of twenty-five major Russian religious thinkers Nineteenth- and twentieth-century Russian religious intellectuals devoted a great deal of attention to the concept of agape, or Divine Love, arguing that the Christian church is a reflection of the triune, self-sacrificing God and his love for all of creation. On account of their deliberations, these intellectuals played a key role in mediating between the Orthodox Church and modern society. Their quest for dialogue between the 'mystery of the sacred' and the 'ordinary of everyday life' remains relevant for Western societies today. In God as Love Johannes Oravecz presents a comprehensive summation of twenty-five prominent Russian religious thinkers and their thought on the concept of agape, showing in detail how they broke new ground in their various affirmations of the truth that God is love. No other book in any language treats this topic with such breadth and depth.

"First published in French as Francois, Pape du Nouveau Monde 2013 Editions Salvator, Paris."

Russian political history and Russian church history are tied together very tightly. One cannot properly understand the overall history of Russia without considering the role of the Orthodox Church in Russia. Cross and Kremlin uniquely surveys both the history and the contemporary situation of the Russian Orthodox Church. The first chapter gives a concise chronology from the tenth century through the present day. The following chapters highlight several important issues and aspects of Russian Orthodoxy -- church-state relations, theology, ecclesiastical structure, monasticism, spirituality, the relation of Russian Orthodoxy to the West, dissidence as a frequent phenomenon in Russian church history, and more.

The purpose of this book is to introduce the New Testament to those who have never read it. Ronald Allen offers a truly elementary guide to the New Testament''s world, its story, and its message. Reading the New Testament for the First Time walks readers through the New Testament, covering key topics like these: how to find one''s way around the New Testamenthow and when the New Testament was writtenimportant characters like Jesus, Paul, and the twelve disciplesbig ideas found in the New Testament such as love, righteousness, and the realm of Godhow to apply the New Testament to our lives todayand much more!

This innovative collection seeks to build bridges between the theology of Karl Barth and contemporary American evangelicalism and provide the impetus for moving evangelical engagement with Barth to a new level. The scholarly insights offered here shed much light on current trends in Protestant theology and show how Barth's thought can enrich evangelical interaction with current theological movements.